US President George W. Bush believes the Iraq war was a success and is “very pleased” with what is happening there, he said in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on a Japanese television network Sunday.

Saddam was an enemy of the United States and a lot of people thought he had weapons of mass destruction, Bush said, adding “remarkable” progress had been made in Iraq since the late dictator was toppled in 2003.

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“People have been able to take their troops out of Iraq because Iraq is becoming successful. I’m very pleased with what is taking place there now,” he said, adding there still is “a lot of work” to be done.

“We are bringing troops home because of the success in Iraq. But Iraq is not yet completely safe.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

“So there will be a US presence for a while there at the request of the Iraqi government,” he said.

“The United States is willing to continue to help. Most countries there within a very broad coalition have come home but we want to help this government,” he said without further elaborating.